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Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Hello all! Long time no talk. So much has happened I have just not been able to keep up with the blog like I love to. Everything has been put on the back burner due to so much happening lately. So let's take a dive right in and I will give you all an update...

Let's start with the illness...
For about a year now I have been losing weight, which don't get me wrong, I have been thrilled about! I didn't think much of it because I'm a momma of 3 kiddos, I'm always busy, we moved to a place with stairs so a lot more up and down, I breastfeed, and I've just been more active than ever. Not only that but we started eating healthier (most of the time), and I eat less at meals than I used to.
Then I started getting weird rashes on my face. It usually appeared on my cheeks and bridge of my nose. I didn't think much of that either because I had been trying new facial cleansers and thought I was just having an allergic reaction. It would seem to come and go now and again so I didn't pay it much attention.
Well, the last 6 months I have been extremely tired now and again. Some days are harder than others. I again thought it was just my hectic schedule, life with 3 kids, etc. I also started experiencing extreme anxiety. Some days again are harder than others, but while I have always had a bit of anxiety it has worsened so much.
Then over the last few months I noticed a huge change in my hair. I have always had a thick head of hair. So thick that when I go to the salon to get a haircut or style they thin it out a little due to how much of it there is. That was the final straw in my symptoms. I started putting them all together.
Symptoms: weight loss, rash across cheeks and bridge of nose, off and on extreme fatigue, anxiety increase, thinning of hair.
I set up an appointment with the doctor who ran all sorts of tests. I honestly had googled my symptoms beforehand so I was going to request to be checked for a few things anyway. One being my thyroid, one being lupus, and then a few other menial issues.
When my blood work came back everything was mostly fine except for my ANA test which is what they run to check for autoimmune diseases (one being lupus). My ANA test was positive. The doctor talked with me a bit about my symptoms and said she highly suspects lupus, however, now it is just to figure out what KIND of lupus it is. So I go to a Rheumatologist in two weeks where they will again go over my symptoms and order more tests no doubt.
Thankfully I have some pictures of my rash and have been keeping track of my symptoms lately. I want to make sure I'm prepared.
Many people wonder what Lupus is. I wondered the same thing. In a short answer it is an autoimmune disease in which your body basically attacks itself. Instead of attacking the bad cells your body attacks the healthy cells. You can have flare ups which can really put you down, and then there are times the disease can go into remission and you will feel fine. People with Lupus often look very healthy on the outside, but appearances aren't everything because you can feel terrible on the inside. My mom has it so I'm not 100% clueless on it. But I was mostly clueless until I started researching it on google. The doctor gave limited information to me about it. I will come back and update on this after my visit with the Rheumatologist, and after they get back the rest of my test results. I just wanted to keep you all up to date. I have come to terms with things though and if that IS in fact what is going on I cannot change it. I can only try to manage it. That is what I keep saying to myself to keep my stress over it down. I also joined a support group which has been so helpful with all of my questions, they have given me tips, and just been there. My husband and mom have been my rocks and they listen when I need to vent, or when I'm scared. But it's hard for them so I don't want to burden them too much. They would say I'm not of course, but I still feel like I am.

In other news...
We have reconnected with family members that we had lost touch with, and that has been very nice. We have been having more family get togethers, and just talking to each other more which has been great for everyone. We have been helping others a lot more as well which has kept us pretty busy, but it feels so great to help someone and know that you made things a little easier on them. You know that feeling? So good for the soul.

Hectic Schedules & Chores...
With everything going on lately our schedules have just been insane. We cannot seem to manage our time very well and I feel like I am doing chores or errands every second of the day, and we haven't been getting as much time just us and the kids as we need. I love spending time with other family members and it has been great having more get togethers, but every little family still needs that time of just them now and again as well.

It really comes down to poor chore/time management and trying to do too much in one day. So we are currently working on a plan of how to remedy that. I am actually going to be looking into the flylady method. Have any of you heard of it? Here is the website if you would like to check it out: www.flylady.net

I have heard a little, but am excited to learn more. Especially with zone cleaning. Now that my boys are a bit older I really think that can be helpful. They have chores currently, but most of the time they don't get them done like they need to and then I end up doing everyone's chores for them just because I want them done. Not good, I know, but it's a struggle. I'm sure all you fellow momma's out there know just what I'm talking about. Do any of you have any tips on getting your kiddos to do their chores? Or do any of you do zone cleaning? If so comment below and give me any advice, or tell me how the zone cleaning has affected your life. I would love to hear from you.

YouTube...
So I have been really into watching vlogs lately. It has not only really motivated me on some stuff like cleaning (I am obsessed with the clean with me, speed cleanings, power hours, etc), but it is just so nice to see other moms and families out there. I have made lots of new friends, and found a lot of favorite channels. I won't be doing vlogs personally at this time. I am considering it possibly in the future, but I am thinking of posting the occasional video now and again starting soon. The videos will be posted here as well as on youtube. Especially of grocery hauls, dollar tree hauls, clearance hauls, that kind of thing. I love watching those, and it gives me a lot of ideas on meal planning and stuff too!
I will also be switching around the look of my blog and adding a list of favorite YouTubers, and list of favorite bloggers I follow. That way if you would like to check out what I watch or read you can. :)

A new normal...
And now I'm hoping to settle in to a new normal for our family. I will be working on schedule changes, cleaning routine changes, and blog routine changes. I have missed it here, and I don't want to go so long without posting again. I want to get back to my reviews, posts, and I plan to include a lot more pictures. My new camera finally came so I'm trying to get used to it.